Theatre and Culture from Scotland, starring The List's Theatre Editor, his performance persona and occasional guest stars. Experimental writings, cod-academic critiques and all his opinions, stolen or original.

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

The Dramaturgy Database: Analysis Part 1, The Choices

Rather than attempt to grapple with wider themes, this essay takes ten entries to the database. They have been selected from various points in the process.An Interview with Purple PenguinOne of the earliest entries, it is an interview with Kat Woods, writer and director of Belfast Boy. There are a selection of questions that relate directly to the production, which the company were bringing to Edinburgh Fringe 2015, and some that discuss dramaturgy within Wood's approach.An Interview with Mike ChaoChao is a magician, and this is an example of Vile's habit of engaging artists who would not usually consider dramaturgy: Chao's reply to the final question ('maybe?) hints at the confusion caused by Vile's line of questioning.An Interview with Angry PuffinA more recent piece, it lacks any individual name as an attribution for the answers, suggesting that the two actors mentioned in the introduction are working together on the replies. The company are based in Glasgow.An Interview with Tim CrouchAnother piece from the Fringe, 2015: parts of this interview were later used in a preview article for The List.An Interview with Ciaran MyersMyers was the playwright for Touch, a production at the Edinburgh Fringe 2015. Again, this features questions about the production and more general discussion of the role of dramaturgy.An Interview with Laura IngramAnother playwright from the 2015 Fringe. This particular piece is one of the most read articles on The Vile Blog, and the first of the Dramaturgy Database articles to reach 300 views within a month.An Interview with James BeagonA recent post with the director of an updating of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. This company are based in Edinburgh.An Interview with Joan ClevilleA relatively rare example of a choreographer within the database, the choreographer of Plan B spoke about his piece ahead of the 2015 Fringe.An Interview with Gary McNairFrom the pantomime season, Vile talks to writer and performer McNair about his script for the 'adult pantomime' at Glasgow's Oran Mor.Although these choices do not represent the database in any sense - none of the interviews could be seen as typical, they do give a vague sense of the range of artists who have given their time to answer questions. All of these interviews were conducted via email.

Absurd opinions, extended reviews, random press releases from The Arts, half baked ideas, unsuccessful experiments with the format of criticism. Brought to you by the host of The Vile Arts Radio Hour and former Theatre Editor of The Skinny, now working with The List